


Merry Christmas Carrots

by megs368



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Presents, Fluff, Love, Mistletoe, One Shot, Reunion, Secret Santa, happy holidays, lots and lots of fluff, totally taking a minute away from the angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:20:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21958783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megs368/pseuds/megs368
Summary: Twas two nights before Christmas, a party was held. Kisses were shared, gifts were exchanged, and long distance loves were reunited.Secret Santa 2019 for neveragainsanta
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 12
Kudos: 298





	Merry Christmas Carrots

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! Enjoy this lovely little, fluffy one shot for neveragainsanta <3

Christmas in Charlottetown had always been a lovely affair. The city was filled with joy and laughter, the spirit of Christmas filling the air. Handcrafted wreaths made with fresh fruits, pine, and holly hung from every door, the aromas of toasted chestnuts and freshly mulled cider filled every corner and alley. Even a small flakes of snow fell from the sky, dusting the ground like powdered sugar on a cake. With it being two days before Christmas, people filled the streets to do last minute shopping and to look at the decorations, walking slowly to take in the sights and smells. Everyone, except for a group of young adults who instead were sprinting down the long path to the train station. 

“Ruby, Moody, keep up!” Diana yelled back to the trailing couple at the far end of the group. The couple was breathing heavily, hands tightly laced with one another

“Can’t we slow..down...a little!” Ruby panted. 

“Oh come on Ruby,” Josie, who had been keeping up rather well with the front of the pack, yelled behind her. “We all agreed to go with Anne to the train station before heading over to Miss Barry’s this evening.”

“We couldn’t let her go alone after all!” Tilly said slyly as her and Jane matched pace a little bit behind Josie.

“But can’t...we slow...down just a little?!” Ruby complained. 

Anne rolled her eyes, dodging past a group of children playing marbles on the sidewalk. Truthfully, she hadn’t wanted anyone besides Diana to join her to the train station, but somehow when their friends caught wind of her plans to pick up her dashing suitor, they took it upon themselves to escort her there. Only, by their joining, they had been slowing her down and now she was late to pick him up. She wanted to be annoyed with her friends, livid for making her late to see the man she was in love with for the first time in months, but her excitement overpowered her anger. It had been four months since the pair had last saw each other and she could not wait to hold him once more.

“The only reason we are running is because you all decided to change when we dropped off our luggage at Aunt Josephine’s! Now keep up!” Diana yelled in frustration. Anne was grateful her bosom friend for all she did, especially helping wrangle their friends so Anne could be excited. No one complained as they rounded the corner, the train station coming into full view, steam rising above it from its most recent arrival. 

Anne ran up the steps, dodging past families, keeping her cerulean orbs, desperately trying to find a pair of moss eyes that filled her heart with joy. She ran towards the train, scanning each car. _Where is he? He said he would be on the five o’clock…_ She skidded to a stop, her eyes locking with a curly dark haired man who was getting his suitcase just down the platform from her. His face lit up as he waved to her before grabbing his suitcase from the train hand. Anne lifted a gentle hand up, waving hello when suddenly she was crashed into by a group of women who sent her face first into a pile of freshly shoveled snow. 

Everyone groaned in unison, each covered in various amounts of snow. Anne laid flat, her face beginning to freeze in the snow but she was too embarrassed to move. Ruby and Moody, who had fallen significantly behind, finally joined the rest of the group. 

“What happened to you guys?” Moody asked jovially, as he watched the entire event unfold. 

“Anne, you can’t just stop like that!” Josie groaned, brushing snow off of her coat. 

“My new coat! It’s ruined!” Tilly cried in horror, her coat covered with slush. 

Jane rolled her eyes. “It’s a winter coat, what did you expect to happen? It to stay dry?”

Anne let out a soft groan while everyone chuckled around her. Diana reached for her friend's shoulder. “Anne, are you alright?”

“Leave me here to perish,” Anne mumbled into the pile of snow. Diana rolled her eyes, pulling at Anne’s arm to help her up and began dusting the snow off of her friends coat. “Oh, what’s the use Di? He will be too ashamed of me to even come over here.”

“I’ll be what?” Anne’s eyes darted up as the groups giggles silenced immediately. Standing before her in his favorite red plaid jacket and black cap was Gilbert Blythe, her sweet love. Gilbert smiled, extending his hand towards Anne. She took it, feeling slightly flustered and embarrassed. However, with their palms wrapped with one another, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of calm. 

He helped her to her feet and pulled her so close that she could see the golden specks dancing in the moss. Gilbert smiled, their hands still holding tightly to one another. “Hey there Anne-girl.” 

A blush arose on her cheeks. _Seeing_ her nickname from him is written in a letter had been most devine, but _hearing_ it come from his lips, well that was an entirely different feeling all together. “H-hey,” she sputtered, pulling away from him in fear that she may burst if they remained close for another minute longer. “I’m so happy that you’re here, although this wasn’t exactly how I wanted to greet you. I had this wonderful plan that I would be here waiting for you and then I would recite the lovely poem I wrote. But here I go, being a complete fool and falling face first into the snow...”

“Anne,” he laughed but she couldn’t hear him over her embarrassed rambles. 

“It was just going to be Diana and I but then Moody wanted to come, so of course that meant Ruby wanted to join and then it somehow turned into everyone. And then we were late so we had to run all the way from Aunt Josephine’s...”

“Carrots!” He shouted, hoping to catch her attention. A collective gasp came from behind them as Anne’s jaw slacked in shock, causing Gilbert to let out a hearty chuckle. “You know, you talk too much sometimes.” Gilbert smirked, cupping her face within his gloved hands. The wool felt soft and warm on her now frozen cheeks. “I’m going to kiss you, okay?”

“But there are so many people around, and oh lord, all these people just saw me fall on my face...” He silenced her by pressing his lips hard against hers, letting her breath in his sweet scent. He smelled of pine, a smell she had grown to miss over their months apart. Anne wrapped her arms around his neck, no longer caring at the people gasping around them and staring. She swore she heard a collective awe coming from behind her but with her lips up against his, the rest of the world no longer mattered. 

They pulled apart, much too soon for Anne’s taste, and pressed their foreheads together. “I’ve missed you Anne-girl.” His whispered. 

“As I have you.” She leaned forward, wanting to kiss him again when someone cleared their throat. They looked over, all their friends staring at them with large grins. “Oh, uh, yeah. They wanted to see you too.” Anne mumbled, sliding her arms away from his neck sadly. Gilbert took her hand in his and squeezed it with a smile. She returned the smile as he bent down and grabbed his suitcase before heading over to their friends.

*****

“Wow, Cole, you did this?” Jane pondered, as her and Tilly looked up at an elegant oil painting a cliffside overlooking a vast sea. It was appropriately titled The Lake of Shining Waters. 

Cole smiled proudly from the love seat he was sharing with Diana and Josie. “Yes, it was my final project for school. Earned me perfect marks.” He glanced across the way to Anne, who was sitting on the couch next to Aunt Josephine and Ruby. “But I expect nothing less from the spot I first found my muse.” He winked at her, causing her to giggle fondly at the memory. Gilbert smiled from where he was standing across the room, oh how he loved that giggle and had missed its sweet ring. What he wouldn’t give to listen to it every day.

“Gilbert!” Moody snapped his fingers in front of Gilbert's face.

Gilbert broke his gaze away from Anne. “Oh sorry, I uh…”

“Was staring at Anne, as you have done for years.” Moody elbowed him softly, chuckling. 

His face burned. “Was it that obvious?”

Moody rolled his eyes, patting his friend on the back. “Incredibly. Honestly, the only ones who didn’t notice were you two. And maybe Rubes in the early years.” Gilbert bit his lip, he knew he had a hard time keeping his eyes off of Anne, he just didn’t realize everyone else noticed as well. Moody smiled, taking a small sip of his tea. “Don’t worry about it Gilbert, you two are courting now. Gives you an excuse to stare at her as much as you like.”

Gilbert returned the smile, his eyes drifting back towards Anne, only this time she was staring back. The conversations swirled around them, but he couldn’t hear any of them. He had felt like a piece of his heart was missing in the time they had been apart. And being in the same room with her now, it almost seemed surreal. Through the glances though, he realized he had no desire to be in the room with a bunch of other people. He wanted her and only her. He wanted to sit with her in a quiet room and discuss everything that had been excluded from her letters, he wanted to talk about his stresses and hers. He wanted to hold her, have her head on his chest as he lazily run his fingers through her fire locks. But above all, he wanted his Anne and only his Anne. 

Gilbert lifted an eyebrow, jerking his head slightly to the left. He wasn’t sure if she would decipher his code but when he saw the corners of her mouth rise, he knew that she understood. Gilbert held up two fingers underneath his teacup so no one else could see but her. She nodded, still smiling. He smirked, placing his teacup on the table next to him. “Apologies Moody, but I must excuse myself for a moment. Need to uh, go fetch something from my bag.” He said to Moody, only to realize his friend was now preoccupied talking with Ruby, who had been slowly been making her way across the room to them.

Gilbert smirked, stealthily making his way through the archway and out into the hall, stopping for a moment to fetch a plainly wrapped parcel from his bag. He then walked down the hall a little further and found a tiny alcove behind the staircase to wait for Anne. Leaning against the wall, he let out a large breathe he had been holding in the entirety of his sneaking. He rested his head against the wall, closing his eyes. _Now to wait_ . _Hopefully she understood me._ Knowing Anne, she would have. In all the time of them knowing one another, they had shared so many glances and silent understandings. 

_And many more misunderstandings_ . His eyes shot open. What if she didn’t understand? What if he is just waiting out here like a fool? _No no, she nodded. She understood. Calm down. You’re exhausted. She will be here in a minute. Just close your eyes and wait patiently Gilbert._ “Just relax.” He whispered, closing his eyes and sliding down the wall, feeling himself dose slightly. He had been on a train for over 24 hours and he barely slept a wink between his readings and daydreaming about Anne. _Just stay awake for a few more minutes_.

*****

“If you all would excuse me for a moment,” Anne rose from the couch. “I need to uh, go and grab something from upstairs.” 

Cole and Diana exchanges knowing glances. “Uh huh.” Diana said slyly. 

“Would that something happen to be someone?” Cole inquired devilishly. A blush arose on Anne’s cheeks. 

“No, it’s just...that I uh,” Anne mumbled nervously. 

Aunt Josephine rolled her eyes. “Leave the poor girl alone you two.” She grabbed Anne’s hand, pressing something into it as she squeezed their hands together. “Go retrieve your item, and then on your way back, I would like for you to stop by the library. I would love to have you recite something before the night is over”. 

“It would be my honor,” she said, wrapping her other hand around Aunt Josephine’s, smiling softly in gratitude. 

Aunt Jo slyly winked. “Take your time, my dear.”

“No I called dibs on Royal Gardner, you have to find someone else Josie Pye.” Anne heard Jane’s voice boom before she adjusted her skirt and quickly made her way from the room before she was dragged into yet another argument between the two of them. 

“Oh honestly Jane...” Josie’s voice trailed off as Anne scurried down the hall, keeping her eyes peeled for Gilbert. _He couldn’t have gone far._

A loud snore came from her left, which caused her to jump at least a foot into the air. She peered over and had to fight off a giggle when she saw Gilbert sitting on the floor in a tight ball, fast asleep. She walked over to him and bent down quietly, careful to not frighten him. “Oh Gil.” She whispered as her fingers went up to a stray curl that was falling in his eyes, he needed a haircut. _Perhaps he would let me give him one while they were home, I’m sure he would love to have his bangs out of his eyes._

Her gaze drifted to a package sitting beside him, immediately recognizing Gilbert’s unique curled letters. _To my Anne with an E_ . She felt her breath catch in excitement. He _had_ gotten her something despite their insistence to one another that they wouldn’t exchange. Her hands instinctively went to her pocket within her skirt, patting a small box. “Looks like neither one of us were entirely honest with the other.” She whispered as a smirk formed on her lips. “I love you Gil,” she said, knowing he probably couldn’t hear her. Anne slowly brought her lips to his, ready to place a single kiss on them when his eyes opened to slits

“I love you, Anne-girl.” He said groggily, meeting her lips the rest of the way. Her heart fluttered much as it did every time his soft lips met hers but this one… this kiss felt different and she had trouble focusing, only hearing the phrase he had just spoke over and over again in her head. It was the first time she had heard him speak those words aloud. He had written them on paper. He had written the phrase many times in fact, but hearing it uttered from his lips into her ears, she felt she could float away. 

When they separated, his eyes were more alert, sparkling almost. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep...”

She held a finger up to his lips. “I’m sorry for waking you.” 

Gilbert took her hand, placing his lips against her knuckles gently. “So, how long do you suppose we have before the hoards realize we are missing?” 

“Hmm,” she pondered. “I think a few minutes.” His face fell slightly until a smirk formed on his lips. “Although,” she said, holding up the key that aunt Josephine had given her. “I do need to fetch something from the library.” 

*****

Anne turned the dial on the wall, the electric lamps lighting the room in a warm glow. Gilbert gasped, the library looking like something straight out of what he sure was one of Anne’s wildest dreams. Books lined the walls floor to ceiling, a window seat with overstuffed cushions with colorful patterns say on the far wall. Between the glow of the lamps and the gentle snow fall outside, he was sure he could be lost for hours in there.

“Wow,” he mumbled under his breath as Anne led him into the room. 

Anne glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “Gertrude loved books, they were a passion of hers.” 

“Gertrude was Aunt Josephine’s...”

Anne stopped walking and breathed deeply. “Gertrude was Aunt Josephine’s dearest, treasured and most beloved person, whose passion for life knew no bounds.” She finished, her voice filled with sorrow as she turned to face him, her eyes trailing to the floor. “I would have loved to have met her.” 

Gilbert squeezed her hand, her eyes rising to meet his. He offered a polite smile before responding. “She sounded lovely. Like a true kindred spirit.” Anne’s face brightened. 

“A true kindred spirit indeed.” She stepped closer, placing her lips softly against his cheek before bringing them to his ear and whispered sweetly. “Much like you.” 

The words sent a chill down his spine. For years, he had heard Anne used the phrase sparingly and had quickly learned its importance to her. Secretly, he had always hoped he would one day be considered a kindred spirit by Anne. So hearing her say those words now, so intimately and beautifully, it was almost greater than any love confession. 

Gilbert almost begged her to stay when she pulled away and began looking about the rows of texts. “Now, what shall I read? I was thinking about something to do with Christmas but I am not quite sure. Perhaps something from Hoffman or Dickens.” She began scurrying about the room, leaving Gilbert to watch her with a smirk. She was in her element, surrounded by tomes and novels and he had no desire to disturb her. If it had been up to him, the pair of them would stay in there for the rest of the evening. He enjoyed nothing more than watch Anne flutter around, picking up various texts and smile, no book being unappealing to her. 

He looked over to the window seat, the cushions stacked high and a quilt resting next to it and sighed. Oh how he longed to curl up there, his head laying upon Anne’s chest as she flipped through the pages of her novel, reading the occasional passage to him as he drifted off to sleep. That was what he wanted more than anything in this moment. 

“Ah ha!” Anne shouted triumphantly, standing on her tiptoes trying to reach a scarlet cloth-bound book that was just out of her grasp. “Oh, come to me, my dear one!” Her voice straining as she willed the book towards her. 

Gilbert smirked and walked over beside her. “Allow me.” She came down off of her toes, side stepping only the smallest amount so that Gilbert was pressing into her when he reached up for the book she desired. He watched as a crimson blush crept up Anne’s neck, slowly rising to her cheeks as he handed her the text. 

Their gazes locked, Anne’s shoulder still firmly against his chest for neither wanted to move in the slightest. “Thank you.” She whispered, her eyes shifting down to his lips. His matched, her rose lips parted slightly, beckoning him closer. Gilbert leaned forward, craving to feel her soft lips against his when Anne pulled back nervously, the book pressed tightly against her chest. “I have something for you.” 

He tried not to let his disappointment show as she stuck her hand into her skirt, searching for something. “I thought we said no gifts Anne.” He questioned with a smirk.

“It’s not much,” she held out her hand to reveal a small box, wrapped in brown paper and decorated with sprigs of holly and ribbon. “I wanted to get you something special for our first Christmas as an ‘us’.”

Gilbert smiled softly. “Anne, you truly didn’t need to get me anything...” 

“You know, I said the same thing when you surprised me with my dictionary, Gil.” She said with a giggle. He let out a breathy chuckle and slowly took the gift from her palm as she looked on impatiently. He smirked as he took extra care to not destroy the decorations or the paper. Anne tapped her foot quickly against the ground. With each footfall, he unwrapped the present slower and slower. “Oh don’t worry about the decorations, rip it open! I’m simply too anxious for your reaction!”

“Patience has never been your strong suit, my darling,” he said with a laugh, finishing off the wrapping before shoving it in his pocket to discard later. Under the wrapping was a velvet black box, Anne was beaming, anxiously swaying side to side. He opened the box, his jaw dropping when he saw a pair of silver cufflinks shining up at him. “Oh Anne...”

“I remembered you asked Matthew to borrow a pair of his before the...” her voice trailed off, he didn’t blame her. It wasn’t his finest moment when he brought Winnie to the county fair rather than being with Anne in the first place. Anne perked up, gripping tightly to his hand. “Anyway, I figured you needed a pair for your more professional affairs and nicer occasions. And when I saw these, I knew they simply must be yours.” 

Gilbert squeezed her hand back, still stunned. “Thank you. But...how did you...”

“Well, it turns out that my poems and short stories are quite good,” Anne said proudly. She didn’t need to explain that to Gilbert, he had seen how talented she was for years. “You remember the local newspaper I told you was offering me compensation for my work?” He nodded, remember in one of her early letters her including a clipping of her first published poem. He had been so consumed with pride, he carried it in his wallet daily, showing it to anyone he held a conversation with. “Well I had been putting a little to the side every time they bought and published a piece. It quickly added up to be quite a fair sum and I just knew I needed to get you something special. So,” she bit her lip nervously. “Do you like them?”

He was dumbfounded. No one had ever bought something so expensive for him before, these must have put a deeper hole in Anne’s wallet than she was letting on. She has been struggling with money just as much as he had been. He had to pull an extra shift at the local pub in order to afford the materials for her present and even then he was cutting it close. “Anne, they’re wonderful...but they must have cost a fortune...I can’t accept these.” He whispered sadly, his eyes not want to meet hers. 

“How can you not accept something that was already yours?” He glanced up to see her grinning mischievously. “Flip them over.” He cocked an eyebrow, questioningly. She lifted both of hers and urged him to do as she commanded. 

Gilbert pulled one of the silver disks from its container and peered at the back of it. He felt the wind get knocked out of him and tears instantly forming in his eyes as his fingers traced over three engraved letters in the back. 

_JWB._ The same initials as his father. “These...no they can’t be.” His voice came out hoarse, barely audible. But there was no mistake, these were the very same cufflinks he had seen his father wear on every formal social gathering. The same cufflinks that had been sold off by Mary’s son Elijah earlier in the year, thought to never be seen again. A tear slid over his eyelid as his eyes connected with Anne’s. “How.. how did you find them?”

Anne kissed his cheek, taking the tear away on her lips. “Elijah actually helped me. I went home the weekend after we first made our feelings known to one another and officially met him when I went to announce the joyous news to Bash, Delphine, and Miss Hazel.” She swiped away another tear as it slid down his cheek. “He said he was trying to atone for his discretions against you and all those he had wronged. He told me that he had slowly been tracking down the belongings of yours that he had sold off...although he had been struggling with the cufflinks.” She smiled down fondly at them, as if they were an old friend. “It took us quite a bit of time to track them down but eventually, we found that they had been sold off to a pawn shop here in town. So immediately, I marched over there and declared that I was to be the buyer of those stunning cufflinks. And here they are, back in the hands of their rightful owner.”

Gilbert’s tears continued to fall as Anne cupped his face, swiping each one away as they slid down his cheek with a soft smile. His free hand clasped her hand, pressing his lips to her palm. “Thank you...thank you, my magnificent, incredible, beautiful love. Thank you.” He pressed his lips into her palm five more times, holding the last for a few seconds longer before meeting her eyes. Anne’s own cheeks were slowly being dampened by falling tears but her smile was bright as the rising sun. He pressed his forehead against hers, his hand still holding hers on his cheek and whispered, “I lov...”

“There you two are!” They jumped apart, Anne’s book crashing to the floor as they looked across the room to the doorway where Diana stood smirking. “It’s time for dinner.”

“Dinner! Right!” Anne chuckled nervously as she exchanged glances with Gilbert. “We uh, we’re just...”

Diana crosses her arms and giggled. “You two are courting, haven’t seen one another in four months, and are alone. You don’t have to explain it to me. In fact, I would almost prefer if you didn’t.” She offered the couple a comforting smile. “However, everyone was getting a tad curious as to where you have been and dinner is waiting on you two. So it would be best if we...”

“You are absolutely correct.” Anne smiled, lacing Gilbert’s fingers with her own with a tight squeeze. “Common Gil, I imagine you’re famished.” 

In truth, he felt more disappointed that he couldn’t remain in the library, hidden away from the conversation and others, just being with the woman he loved. And to finally present her with the gift he had been so thrilled to give her. But Anne was also, as usual, correct as his stomach let out an audible cry for sustenance. All three of them laughed as they made their way into the dining room, Gilbert bringing his free hand up to his chest and tapping the present was hidden right about his heart. _After dinner,_ he thought. _Give it to her after dinner._

*****

Dinner was by far one of the most marvelous and extravagant affairs Anne had attended in quite a long time. Aunt Josephine truly geld nothing back for her young guests, the table filled with candles and pine wreaths, stunning crimson china and green cloth napkins. And the food, oh the wonderful, delicious food. Each course was better than the last. From the butternut squash soup to the roasted chicken and vegetables, only to finish it all with the most delicious plum pudding. It was a feast straight from a dream, only to be made all the better by the company she kept. 

Gilbert sat to her right, their feet occasionally brushing against one another under the table as they ate, stealing glances when they felt no one else’s eyes on them. Anne found herself occasionally stealing away into her mind, imagining what her and Gilbert’s Christmas’s would be like in the future and if they would always be such a joyous affair. She certainly hoped they would.

After the feast, the group made their way to the parlor for games and cookies, along with a piping glass of hot buttered rum for each one of them. “It’s your first holiday as official adults, it might as well be celebrated as one.” Aunt Josephine stated matter of factly as she had Rollins pass out the beverages.

Charades seemed to be the most popular game of the evening, each time the actor acting sillier as the rum began to take effect. Time seemed to be irrelevant as they played round upon, all laughing so hard their stomachs hurt. They were all shocked when the clock on the mantle struck midnight. 

“Perhaps, that poem would be appropriate before we retire for the evening.” Aunt Josephine gestured towards Anne. 

Anne smiled as she pulled herself from the couch, leaving behind a saddened Gilbert who had been enjoying the heat that radiated off of her body. She flipped the copy of the Christmas Carol open and began to read the final few paragraphs.

Gilbert’s eyes never left hers, absorbing every word and each movement with a proud smile on his face. He was the first to rise, clapping widely when she finished. Everyone joined in Gilbert's praise, clapping wildly and shouting words of praise. Anne beamed as she took a small bow.

After the clapping subsided, Aunt Josephine remained standing, stepping slow towards her young kindred spirit and wrapping her arms around her. “Well done my darling girl. Gertrude...she would be in awe of you.” A tear slid down her cheek which she quickly swept away before she turned addressed the group “I believe this is where this old woman bids you all a fond good night. Remember we have an early morning of travel my dears, it would do you well to turn in shortly as well.” She shot everyone a wink, knowing full well they would most likely be up for the entire night celebrating their winter break.

The conversation continued for another hour or so, Anne leaning against an exhausted Gilbert, whose breathing kept slowing with every passing moment. She looked up to him to see his eyes shut tightly. “Gil?” She whispered.

“Hm?” He mumbled. 

“Why don’t I show you to your room?” 

“Okay.” 

She smiled, helping him up from the couch . He was groggy but he seemed able to walk without much help. They began making their way to the exit, hopefully unseen when Cole asked slyly. “And where are you two going?”. 

Anne slid her arm into a half asleep Gilbert’s, whose balance shifted constantly. “Well unlike the rest of us, Gil has been traveling. It’s time for him to head off to bed. I am just showing him where he will be for the evening” 

“Sorry Anne, can’t let you do that just yet.” Diana smirked. 

Gilbert leaned into her. “Honestly guys...”

“Look at where you’re standing!” Tilly said, pointing directly above their heads. Anne and Gilbert exchanged glances before their gazes traveled upwards to see a tiny sprig of mistletoe.

“You know what that means!” Josie said excitedly. 

“Everyone, really?” Gilbert asked lazily, although he seemed more alert than he had been moments prior. 

“Sorry Gilbert,” Moody chimed in, sarcastically shrugging his shoulders. “That’s the rules.”

“And you can’t break the rules!” Ruby giggled, wrapping her arm within his. Everyone began to egg them on, demanding for them to play along in the holiday tradition. Anne bit her lip, looking up at him nervously. Gilbert smirked, before he grabbed ahold of her arms, pulling her tightly to him before planting his lips firmly against hers. The familiar jolt of electricity shot down Anne’s spine as it often did whenever they touched in any form. From the other side of the room, their friends cheered and when they pulled apart, they were momentarily breathless. They grinned at one another, secretly grateful for the mistletoe for allowing them to add another kiss to their ever growing list. 

Immediately following the kiss, Gilbert bid everyone good night with Anne promising a return after she showed him his quarters. Once they arrived at the farthest door on the left, Cole’s bedroom, they faced one another to say their good nights when Gilbert pulled out a rectangle package from his jacket pocket that Anne had seen earlier. “I had been debating giving this to you all evening.” She eyed the package suspiciously. “I was going to hold off until Christmas but after your incredible gift...” his voice trailed off as he looked down at the package sadly, like he regretted bringing it out. 

Anne lifted his chin so his eyes met hers as she offered a kind smile. “It is a gift from you Gil, I’m sure it is marvelous.”

He nodded nervously, extending his arm to give her the gift. She took it in her hands, secretly excited to be receiving a gift before Christmas and began ripping away at the paper. She crumpled the paper, sticking it in her pocket before she let out an audible gasp as she looked at her gift fully. 

In her hands, she held the most stunning leather bound journal. Her fingers gingerly touched the cover, tracing the embossed letters of her name in the middle. She flipped it open, this time her eyes watering when it revealed an assortment of wildflowers that had been pressed to surround a handwritten quote. 

“ _Wherever you are is my home_...” she whispered, a tear falling to the page. “Oh Gil...”

“It isn’t much but my roommate knows how to bind books. So he helped me with the binding.” Gilbert said nervously. “And the flowers are ones I found strewn about Toronto that reminded me of you. And the quote is from...”

“Jane Eyre.” They finished together, both offering tender smiles. 

Gilbert tousled his hair nervously. “Do you like it?”

She let out an airy laugh, still in shock of the gift. Anne grabbed his hand, placing a gentle kiss on his knuckles. “Oh Gil, it’s wonderful!” 

“Great. Amazing. I’m glad.” He grinned, staring deeply into the eyes of her eyes. She wasn’t sure how long they stood there, getting lost in each others eyes had been a fault of theirs for many years.

“Anne! Are you coming back down or not?” Cole called from the bottom of the steps. “Moody is trying to see how many chestnuts he can fit into his mouth! He’s at twenty so far and still has room for more! You can’t miss this!” 

Anne and Gilbert exchanged glances before bursting into a fit of laughter. “Coming.” She called down the steps, eyes still not leaving Gilbert’s. “Guess I should be going. Can’t miss the special event happening downstairs.” She said sadly, staying with him would be her preferred way of spending the evening. 

“It is a once in a lifetime event.” Gilbert joked with a smile. Anne rolled her eyes and smirked as he lifted her hand to his lips. “Good night, Anne-girl.” 

“Good night Gil.” Anne whispered as he dropped her hand. She stepped closer, so close that their noses were almost touching. “I love you.” 

Before he could respond, she leaned forward, her lips resting on his with a gentle kiss. She smiled when she pulled away and spun on her heels, running down the stairs to their friends who were now celebrating a twenty third chestnut being shoved into Moody’s mouth. 

Gilbert smiled softly to himself, running his fingers through his curls. He kept his eyes on the stairs only a moment longer before whispering, “Merry Christmas Carrots.”


End file.
